Wild salmon-amount depends on servings needed
Garlic Scapes Pesto
8-10 fresh garlic scapes cut into 3″ lengths
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
Put garlic scapes, nuts, lemon juice and salt into a food processor and blend, drizzle olive oil in and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Cucumber-Spring Pea Salad
8 oz. plain Greek yogurt
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parsley
small bunch of fresh dill
4-6 large basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound fresh peas (frozen if fresh aren’t available)
2 English cucumbers halved length-wise and sliced thin cross-wise
Whisk first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Blanch peas for 1 minute then plunge into a bowl of cold water or rinse in a colander with cold water to stop cooking and allow cooling. Combine dressing, peas and cucumber, toss well to mix and let chill in refrigerator while salmon cooks.
Cook salmon on grill or in pan on stove top. Coat both sides of salmon with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook skin side up first and when it looks cooked halfway up the edges gently turn and continue cooking until cooked through. When it’s properly cooked the meat will easily lift off of the skin, leaving the skin in the pan or grill for discarding.
While salmon is cooking, put enough pesto on serving plate to set each fish portion onto, then when portions are put in plate, spread a thin but generous layer of pesto on top side. Serve over or along side Cucumber-Spring Pea Salad.
If you desire you can use your favorite fish in place of salmon as this works well with most dishes.